Second analysed contents page

This contents page is slightly more complex than the other as it includes various images, which are different style and some are slightly tinted or different colours. I prefer this contents and want my magazine contents page to have various images along one side.
This contents uses quite faded, washed out colours which could be to show that some of the artists featured in this contents are older and from the past, but still major artists today who have had an affect on the music industry.
Or it could be to link in with the rock genre of the magazine.
The layout of the writing is clear and seperate from the pictures, this makes it very easy for the reader to read and means they can be directed to the page number straight away.
A lot of contents pages I have looked at include a section called 'this month's contributors.' This is along the right hand side of this contents page and gives the people involved in the magazine recognition for their hard work.
On the bottom in the beige box, is a section on the reviews which the magazine (UNCUT) has conducted. They are all the people they have spoken to and with such a long list like this shows the reader they have done a lot of work.
The slightly complicated contents page implies there is a lot going on inside the magazine and intrigues the reader.
In the small red box is an image of the magazine cover, which is a feature I wish to include in my magazine with arrows and page numbers to make it very clear to the reader where to find things from the cover. But, the magazine is using the image of the front cover to offer the reader's a special offer which is a good way to intise the reader and make them wish to carry on reading the magazine. As everyone loves special offers or free items.

Analysed contents page

I have analysed various contents pages to see the conventions of what they normally are like in music magazines and to help me with ideas for conducting my piece.
This contents page has a black and white effect which links in well with the dark genre of the magazine and the band.
The picture is very large and attracts the reader's attention.
I feel that the photo expresses the band well as it shows their gothic style and rebellious attitudes. This again relates well with the magazine's genre.
In the top right corner of the photograph is a small caption which reads: 'manic in detroit: three decades of excess with Kiss, p32.' This is useful to the reader as it informs them on what is occurring in the image, why they are featured in the magazine (because it's their third decade,) the band's name is 'Kiss' (although regular readers who are already interested in this genre would already know this and the caption also informs the reader on what page they shall find the article.
Although, the police are in this photo and are supposed to be telling the band off, they do not look particularly unhappy with the band and are actually smiling and laughing. This gives off a good impression of the band, that they are not going against the policeman's authority and being a nuisance to the law, that they are actually getting a long with the police. Which implies they are rather likable people and doesn't give a negative influence on the younger readers of the magazine (teenagers, etc.)
The writing on the magazine is at the bottom and has a box around it so that it is seperate from the picture, but also so that it slightly stands out and is clear.
The writing is in clear columns and has bold red titles, which protrude from the page and make it easier for the reader. Red often holds connotations of danger or blood, which links in well with the dark, gothic genre of this certain magazine.
The page numbers are clear which makes it easy for the reader to find what they are looking for and their are small captions below each of the sub-headings explaining what is on this page. This is good as it debriefs the reader on what is on this page and will make them wish to read more.

Magazine Article

Basics

Based upon a popstar
Storyline about her will be one of these:
The singer has been in a rough relationship where her husband left her for a young page three model after being together for four loving years and her looking after his three kids during this time.
She couldn’t deal with the trauma so then she turned to drugs, but she found it hard to admit to her problem.
6 months after the excruciating break-up she announced live on national television that she was withdrawing from the music industry as she was finding hard to cope with the pressure.
Thousands of fans were devastated, her concert was cancelled. People were fuming. The press fired abuse at her through their magazines and newspapers. Close friends and family leaked personal news to the press for quick cash
But now, this year she has made a massive comeback with her best-selling 2 number one singles and sold out concerts. People have completely changed their views on her and she has recovered well.

Have quick questions in the bottom corner (mini interview)

Models name: Keeley Thornton
Music type: pop

Article

The whole nation has tuned into her spiralling downfall in the past year and abuse has been hurled at her from every angle; even from those whom were supposed to be her support. Personal and embarrassing stories have been leaked to the press and let’s admit, the whole world turned against the once pop sensation.
Keeley Thornton and Ted Ashley were the ideal couple. Keeley helped care for his three children and it seemed they were genetically programmed to be together. The couple took the nation by storm as Keeley knocked all other musicians off the charts and Ted’s football skills wowed fans.
However, the tale took a terrible twist on January 4th 2008 when newspapers published pictures of Ted nestling up to a young, blonde bombshell in the backseat of a taxi. Keeley brushed this information over her head and claimed: ‘Ted was just out on business that night, meeting other fellow footballers at the club. The girl was just a friend of his who we both know quite well. Them in the back of the taxi together means nothing and our relationship is still stronger than ever. I am not worried about this, at all! I have watched the press try to manipulate nothing into something to ruin people’s relationships and I won’t let this happen.’
Then on February 6th Ted left Keeley for the girl he was pictured with; Norwegian beauty Lacey Grate. Keeley seemed to disappear of the face of this earth for three weeks. When she eventually came out of hiding she looked worst for wear. Her once luscious brown hair was tatted and knotted and she appeared emaciated.
‘ During that period of my life I was numb to all pain. That was just the beginning of my downward spiral. I couldn’t get my head around the fact that the press were actually correct and I was wrong. I felt so stupid, as if everyone was laughing at me behind my back.’
Keeley Thornton went into hiding for two, long months. Press couldn’t find any information about her from anywhere. No one had spoke to her or seen her and really close relatives refused to speak about anything. It was as if she had evaporated off the face of the earth, except no one ever forgot about her!
‘I was staying in my other house where the press don’t know it’s whereabouts. As far as they knew I was living with my parents somewhere. It did feel better without the pressure of the press, but not speaking to family members and friends were hard.’
On May 4th 2008 Keeley was spotted leaving the house. She looked different, her skin was pale and her hair was scraped back, her eyes appeared grey. The press snapped her photos from all angles and published multiple stories about what she had been up to whilst in hiding. Keeley did an interview and announced that she was suffering depression and couldn’t cope with all of the stress.
‘I new that I had to say something to warn the press off the scent of what I was really entangled in. Although, I wasn’t lying as I was suffering depression, but it was so much more than that. At that time I had moved back home and it seemed empty without the kids and Ted there. It was really hard to cope with and I was in a slow process of collapsing.’
On May 26th 2008 shocking news broke out. Keeley was on drugs! The press hadn’t even suspected it and the nation was shocked. The Sun was the first paper to release the story and Keeley was crushed that the news had eventually came out.
‘ I didn’t know how long it would take until it would come out, but I knew eventually it would. I just hadn’t expected it to be that soon and didn’t know how to face people, especially my fans. I knew I was letting people down, but at that time was feeling incredible amounts of self pity and didn’t seem to care.’
6th months after the emotional break-up (June 12th) Keeley did a public announcement. Everyone was shocked at how bad she looked. She was ill. She said:
‘ I would like to a-announce that I am withdrawing from the music industry. I don’t want to d-d-do it anymore … I quit!’
Thousands of fans turned against her, everybody was expecting her to make a clean announcement and explain that she was off the drugs. Everybody turned against her. The press had a field day over the news and promoted her breakdown.
‘I could not believe it! Nobody understood me, nobody felt sorry for me and I was voted the most hated woman in Britain. I could not understand. Why was no one feeling sorry for me? That’s all I needed a shoulder to cry on and someone to snap me back to normal, but nobody came for me.’
After the constant abuse coming from gossip magazines and newspapers nobody thought that her own family and close friends would turn against her too. Her aunty released photos of her at a close family party to the press; powder was spotted up her nostrils on every photo and she appeared worst for wear. Then, her best friend sold a story about her drug abuse to ‘The Daily Mirror.’ Many more were sold from close friends and family.
‘The stories from the majority of my friends and close family really were the icing on the cake. I was already onto cocaine and after these stories I turned to heroin, I relied on drugs and could not cope without them.’
Keeley was admitted to rehab and came out on August 3rd; therefore she was in rehab for two long months. It was the beginning of getting the star back onto her feet again. The press calmed down with the stories and people actually started supporting her again.
‘I started to feel great I was off the drugs for two month and was officially announced clean. My skin was glowing and my eyes regained life again. I felt fantastic and nobody could have brought me down. When I left and looked at the newspapers I was so overwhelmed that the press were behind me and so were my fans. It was great!’
Now it’s January 2009 and Keeley Thornton is back on track and looks better than ever. She has released two amazing singles: ‘Let’s go’ and ‘ Thank u’ and has sold out three concerts. She has regained all of her fans and more!
Well done Keeley we are amazed at your fast recovery.



Quick questions


1) What you are looking forward to in 2009?
‘ I am looking forward to being able to bury myself into my music. It helps focus me and now I have nothing holding me back.’

2) What do you think of your fans?
‘ I cannot thank them enough. They are the reason I am where I am today, doing the things that I love. Thank you.’

3) Do you ever speak to Ted and the children?
‘Pfft…Definitely not. I miss the kids dearly and would love to talk to them again, but wouldn’t like to confuse them and ruin Ted’s relationship. He is in my past now and will stay there permanently.

4) Do you plan to just stay in the music business?
‘No, I am booked to film a new movie sometime this year which I am excited about and I will also be featuring in a new television programme which is coming out soon. I do love music and that will always be my passion but I do want to explore other aspects of my career.’

5) Do you speak to the family and friends that betrayed you?
‘ The thing with family is no matter what they do you always love and forgive them. So yes, I do speak to all of my family members. After all you can’t chose your family, but can chose your friends. And apparently I never chose mine very well, that’s why I don’t speak to those people anymore. They have all taught me a valuable lesson about trust though.’

6) What was rehab like?
‘Rehab was great, hard, but great. The staff was great, the food was great and my room was great. The only thing that was not great was the struggle to stay off the drugs. I pulled together enough determination to do it though and afterwards I felt better than drugs ever made me feel. I think more people should enter rehab and not come out until they are clean from drugs.’


7) You enjoy charity work, what projects have you hurled yourself into then?
‘I am supporting the NSPCC and Cancer Research charities, but I am also speaking at drug related conferences to help those who struggled like me come off drugs. My dream is to own my very own rehabilitation which is free so that everyone can come. I would love that!’

8) We must admit, we love the new look, what exactly have you had done?
‘No surgery if that’s what you are hinting at. [laughs] I would never manipulate my body in like that. I have had all my dark tresses chopped off and lightened my hair slightly. I now also have my very own fitness regime and workout three times a week and eat a balanced diet. Nothing too extreme though. I just look different as I actually look healthy again. A lot of people are not used to seeing me this way as they haven’t in a long time.’

9) Would you say that your life is better now than before your breakdown?
‘Yes! Definitely. Before my breakdown I was in a relationship where I obviously wasn’t appreciated. Even when I never knew what was going on me and Ted weren’t right for each other. We just didn’t fit. Don’t get me wrong I did love him and I absolutely adored those kids. But if that’s the type of man he is, I don’t want to be with him. But I definitely am over all of that and hold nothing against him.’

10) There are allegations that you are now dating Justin Timberlake is this true?
‘Hmm … me and Justin are great friends now and have become really close. We are in the process of writing a new song, but [giggles nervously] that is where it ends. We are just friends and don’t want speculations of this going further.

Information on my music magazine

My music magazine is going to be based upon R&B, dance and pop music. I am interested in these types of music, so it will be easier to base my magazine upon these musical genres.
I am aiming my audience on teenage girls approximately around the ages of 13-17 years old. Therefore, the cover and contents should relate to girls, with stereotypical feminine colours used. Colours such as pink, light blue, yellows, orange and light green tend appeal to females more.

My Questionnaire

Click'>http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SOF2_2fPPiGvoXqn9LAczKiw_3d_3d">Click
This is my questionnaire. The original questionnaire was printed from word and handed out to 20 people. I ensured that these people were teenage girls; as this is my target audience.
The link above is from a useful website http://www.surverymonkey.com/ and I used this to display what my questionnaire was like as I experienced difficulties when trying to put the original document onto my blog.
This questionnaire has helped me conduct my final piece, as I now understand what my target audience gains gratification from and can use their ideas in my piece.
The most popular answers to question one was music celebrity gossip and celebrity real life, therefore I used these in my front cover to attract my target audience to the magazine, thus making them want to buy it.
The most popular colour scheme choice (question 2) was pink and blue, therefore I used this colour scheme on my front cover and contents page. Pink and baby blue are sterotypically female colours anyway and will attract the reader.
Question 3 (about using an attractive model) was mainly answered yes and most said they would think the magazine unprofessional and would not buy it if it did not. This links in with Naomi Wolf's theory and proves it correct.
Simple layouts was the most popular choice and therefore I included only one image on my front cover as I did not want to over-complicate the design of the magazine.
Pop and r&b were the most popular answers to question 5, which was extremely good as it shows I chose who I gave the questionnaires to well.
The most popular answers to question 6 were: celebrity lifestyle, new album and music releases and interviews. So I used these features in my magazine as I want to attract my target audience.
Number seven was mainly answered a range of fonts, I listened to my target audience on this, but did not too many as again I did not want to over-complicate/ clutter the layout of my front cover.
Number 8 was mainly answered follow the conventions. I have to an extent done this when conducting my magazine, thus keeping my target audience pleased.
Bold colour schemes was the most popular answer to question nine and therefore I used quite bold colours when creating my magazine.
I placed my model on the right hand side of the magazine front cover as this is what my target audience liked the most as 16/20 preferred this particular feature.
I have used my audience's answers to help me create my magazine and believe it has been rather useful.

Marjorie Ferguson-Categorising facial expressions

Marjorie Ferguson (1980) identified four types of facial expressions for the covers of British women's magazines.

They were:

Chocolate Box

This is where the model has a half or full smile, with their lips together or slightly parted, their teeth are barely visible, face is full or three quarter to the camera. The projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, it is where the uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness/ individuality.

Invitational

This is where there is an emphasis in the eyes, the model's mouth is shut or has a hint of a smile, their head is to one side or looking back to the camera. The Projected Mood: this is suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hin oft contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising's soft cell.

Super-smiler

This is where there is a full face, the model has a wide open toothy smile, their head is thrust forward or their chin is thrown back, their hair is often wind-blown. The Projected Mood: Is aggressive, the model seems to be like 'look-at-me' demanding, the hard sell, 'big come-on' approach.

Romantic Or Sexual

A fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female 'two-somes' or their is the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or they're overtly sensual or sexual. The projected mood: possibly 'available' and 'defenitely available.'

Vixen Music Magazine

I think the title 'Vixen' is very foxy and sexy and it is bold so it stands out.
There are three different fonts used, which is a traditional convention of a magazine. It varies the text, without over-complicating things.
Rihanna is a well-known artist, so she is a recognisable face to the audience. She is colour-coded to the magazine as the background is purple and she has purple in her hair. She protrudes off the page as she is in blue which stands from the purple background. This makes her the main focus of the front cover and it also makes her appear dynamic.
This front cover is not too cramped, but not too simple. There is only one image on the full front cover, which focuses all the attention on Rihanna. Having one image is a classic convention of a music magazine.
Rihanna is posing sexually, she has her mouth half open, is dressed quite revealing and has her hand on her hip with her head tilted.
An attractive female is used which supports Naomi Wolf's theory of having erotic images of women sell products to women.
Another convention of a music magazine is a website, this is so the audience can gather extra information about the magazine and it's contents on the internet.
The bar code can be placed anywhere, but in this case it isn't in focus as it's in the bottom corner, so it doesn't attract attention away from the rest of the front cover.
The colour scheme is particularly feminine: purple, pink and yellows. This tells me that the magazine is aimed at female's but also as it concentrates on celebrity lifestyle and not just the music.